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What’s It Like To Drive The World’s Smallest Car? (Terrifying!)

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BBC Television’s global hit “Top Gear” is a show that spotlights some of the best, fastest, and most luxurious cars in the world. Host Jeremy Clarkson has also shown the world some of the strangest bits of the automotive world. Back in 2008, Clarkson took us on a ride in the smallest production car ever built, the Peel P50. (The full video from 2008 is at the end of this story.)

Image: YouTube

The 1963 mini car was actually certified by Guinness as the “World’s Smallest Production Car.” The P50 was only 51 inches long and 45 inches wide. It was powered by a tiny moped engine and managed to get 100 miles per gallon.

Clarkson squeezed all of his 6ft 5in frame into the P50 and actually drove it around London and inside the BBC offices. Seeing the car next to one of the city’s famous double-decker buses gives you an idea of just how small it is.

Image: YouTube

That was 2008. Fast-forward to 2013 and the Top Gear crew has brought us a newer, smaller car. The P45.

Image: Top Gear

Designed by Clarkson, the P45 is even smaller than the Peel P50, but it does have a bit more power — the P45 has a two-stroke, 100 cc engine.

It is unlikely that we’ll see this vehicle being mass produced. You’ll understand why after you see how a basic pothole nearly throws into a spinout. How small is it? It’s so small that — you can fill the gas tank without getting out of the car.

Here’s a short piece from the last week’s premiere of “Top Gear” 19th season; it features Clarkson driving his creation, the P45.

If you are interested in a comparison to the P50, watch the 2008 segment where Clarkson drove the 1963 car on the streets on London as well as inside the offices of the BBC.